In this April 6, 2013, file photo, PSG's David Beckham celebrates after scoring a goal against Rennes during their French League One soccer match. / David Vincent, AP

by Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY

by Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY

Just last week, Manchester United's highly decorated manager and homespun talisman Sir Alex Ferguson called it quits after a quarter of a century of 11-man dominance.

Now, David Beckham â?? perhaps the starriest, most-endorsed, most dapper of them all â?? is retiring, too.

"if you had told me as a young boy I would have played for and won trophies with my boyhood club Manchester United, proudly captained and played for my country over 100 times and lined up for some of the biggest clubs in the world, I would have told you it was a fantasy," Beckham said in a statement.

But the truth is the dead-ball genius that the British media (with an Anglo smirk) called "golden balls" has had his up and downs.

He won six Premier Leagues titles and the Champions League with Manchester United, as well as the La Liga title with Real Madrid, of course. There were the triumphs with the Los Angeles Galaxy, and, he added a fourth country to his resume of league titles only yesterday, winning a trophy with Paris Saint-Germain.

Beckham played for his country's national team 115 times.

Off the field, there were little glories as well. He played a huge role in lobbying to bring the 2012 Olympic Games to London. He was widely praised for his various ambassadorial duties, for the sport, but also outside it, with UNICEF, for example.

When he moved to LA the European soccer establishment rolled its eyes, but he made a success of it, silencing the Doubting Thomases.

The guy is a global brand and quite possibly the richest athlete in British sports, with an estimated fortune of $250 million. Don't forget the pop star girlfriend (now wife). Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper round out a very magazine-cover-looking soccer first-family.

With the highs, there came lows, however.

There was the red card in the 1998 World Cup against bitter on-pitch (and off) enemies Argentina. When Beckham walked off the field that day, the whole nation foamed at the mouth with hatred. It took a while to come back from that. There was also his bitter disappointment at the United Kingdom's failure to convince FIFA to let it host the 2018 World Cup. (It went to Qatar.)

So now what? Well, he's probably too soft-spoken for the world of professional punditry, even if that was his thing. And doesn't come across as a strategy man destined for coaching, although he is involved with a number of academies at the grass-roots level.